Thailand Vegetarian Festival - Devotees Undergo Gruesome Piercing Rituals As Sign Of Worship

Thailand Vegetarian Festival - Devotees Undergo Gruesome Piercing Rituals As Sign Of Worship

It's an occasion that combines abstinence with extreme body modification. At Thailand’s Vegetarian Festival, which takes place over ten days on the popular tourist island of Phuket, devotees aim to purify their minds and bodies by avoiding meat, alcohol and sex. More bizarrely, they also endure ritual mutilation, piercing both cheeks and threading objects through as a sign of reverence to their gods and ancestors. Most festival goers use skewers for this excruciating ceremony, but many take it one step further. Participants this year were observed thrusting umbrellas, spades and even tricycles through their faces.

1. A devotee with umbrellas pierced in his cheeks walks during a procession. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)




2. Most participants put one skewer through their cheeks, others take it much further. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)



3. Smoke pours from firecrackers during a parade. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)



4. One devotee walks with a tricycle pierced through his cheek. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)



5. A man takes part in a procession carrying a shrine through the streets of Phuket, hoping to win good fortune from the gods. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)



6. A man walks the streets with a shovel pushed through his cheek. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)



7. The sacred ritual of facial piercings is a sign of veneration to gods and ancestors. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)



8. In another sign of devotion a festival goer takes part in a fire walking ritual. (Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)



9. A man with a pierced face hands out offerings of fruit. (Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)



10. A man with a pierced face hands out offerings of fruit. (Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)



Original Source:Yahoo News